Pg. 49 Litchi Cultivars in South Africa: The Current Situation

Litchi fruit exported from South Africa dominated the European markets for a long time and research was mainly based on methods of lengthening the time of ripening. The search for and planting of new, well-adapted good quality and especially early-ripening cultivars is now of the utmost importance for the South African litchi industry if it is to compete with Madagascar for the European export market.

Summary:

• South African litchi fruit has historically dominated the European markets, with research focused on extending ripening times for export competitiveness.
• The South African litchi industry mainly depends on two cultivars: HLH Mauritius and McLean’s Red.
• HLH Mauritius produces most of the crop but ripens when the European market is saturated with Madagascar litchis, reducing its market value.
• McLean’s Red ripens later and can fetch better prices but does not tolerate current post-harvest treatments well and has poor shelf life during long sea freight.
• There is a need to find and plant new, well-adapted, high-quality, especially early-ripening cultivars to better compete with Madagascar for the European market.
• Several other cultivars exist but are not yet commercially viable due to limited availability and production, including:
  • Very early Third Month Red
  • Promising Fay Zee Siu (good quality, but inconsistent bearing)
  • Late Large Red (has poor fruit set)
• Newly imported cultivars include mid-season Haak Yip (Souey Tung) and Kwai May Pink, and late-season Salathiel and Wai Chee.
• Evaluation progress of these new cultivars is slow due to young trees and limited plant material, requiring more test sites and fruit to assess post-harvest behavior and market suitability.
• These new cultivars differ not only in appearance but also in flavor.
• A short-term solution to the lack of plant material is grafting, either by top-working mature trees or grafting young air-layered trees.
• Grafting has been reasonably successful, with less incompatibility observed in clonal air-layered rootstocks compared to seedlings used previously.
• This summary captures the key points about the current status and challenges of litchi cultivars in South Africa for export and market competitiveness.